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Autumn Culinary Kids Academy at Daily Fare, Bethel

Classes start September 26. Register today!

By Meghan Friedland, Editor/Publisher of Macaroni Kid Danbury-Bethel-Ridgefield CT September 19, 2013

An announcement from me of what I’m about to cook or bake in the kitchen is often followed quickly by a scratching sound from my 4-year-old pushing a chair across the floor toward the counter as she exuberantly shouts, “I wanna help!”  For this reason, I keep a handy stash of kid-sized aprons in my dishtowel drawer and try to get started an extra hour or so ahead of schedule to account for the slower prep time. Cooking with kids can be super fun, and it’s sort of an understood fact shared amongst mothers everywhere that when a child helps to prepare his/her food, he/she is more likely to actually eat it.

If you have a child who also loves to cook, then you’ll want to check out the weekly Culinary Kids Academy being offered this Autumn by Daily Fare (the “Down to Earth Gourmet to Go” restaurant located in the Bethel Train Station).  Chef Robin Grubard (a former culinary college instructor who is also a parent of two young children) helps kids build skills, creativity and confidence in the kitchen. The classes are age-appropriate, fully supervised and include fun activities. Students learn the basics of nutrition, food preparation, creative exploration of ingredients and cooking styles, food safety, culinary history, ethnic foods and their cultures…and much more. 

Parents of Daily Fare “graduates” have wonderful things to say about the classes. Jennifer, whose 6-year-old son took classes recently shared with us, “Matthew loved having fun with other kids his age in the kitchen, and was happy to eat his creations.  My husband and I were really happy he was being exposed to all the yummy foods that I normally would not have thought to make at home.” Jennifer then shared that Matthew would be so excited about what he learned in class, that he would offer to cook HER dinner!  How sweet is that?  

Sharon from Danbury has a 6 year-old daughter that took a week of cooking class camp this past summer. Of Chef Robin’s teaching style she says, “She lets them crack the eggs, stir the dishes, add as much spices as they want. She doesn’t tell them it is ‘too much’ or ‘not stirred enough’. She makes them feel good about themselves and proud of their own work. She has the right balance between teaching them and letting them actually cook.” As for her daughter Kaitlyn’s impressions, Sharon says, “She was so excited to come home and show me all the techniques she learned.” Sharon then admitted that her daughter even taught HER a few things. Bonus!

Below is the class schedule by age group. You can save money by signing up for the entire eight-week session, although you are also able to pay per class if that suits your schedule better.

Class Schedule:

Grades 1-3

Wednesdays starting October 2, 4:15-5:30PM

$25 per class or $185 for all eight.


Grades 4-6 

Thursdays starting September 26, 3:30-5PM

$30 per class or $220 for all eight.

*No class on Halloween (10/31)

Register Today!

To register contact Chef Robin at robin@dailyfare.net or 203.743.7300. Please let Robin know that you read about her classes on Macaroni Kid!

Daily Fare is located at the Bethel Train Station at 13 Durant Avenue, Bethel, CT that offers breakfast bakery, gourmet coffee and teas, lunches featuring their notoriously incredible scones and custom catering (including cooking parties). Owner and Chef Robin Grubard is a Bethel resident who attended and later taught at Baltimore Culinary College. “Like” Daily Fare on Facebook to see class updates, daily specials and more!

Macaroni Kid Danbury-Bethel-Ridgefield has been compensated for writing and publishing this article. Testimonials were provided by local parents willing to share their child's experience and the opinions expressed are their own.